ALC Fox

I wonder if this comes with age. The ability to get the power and accuracy from a corner in the manner that Rice and Saka can do, for example. Must be rare to achieve that for a 17-year-old.

Pleased for Kevon Gray. Hope he gets on and a chance to impress.

The only way he stays is if we're able to convince him that the finances have been sorted to a degree where we're able to rebuild and sign some quality to get us back up. At the moment, that looks like a very remote possibility. The Macquarie rubbish, the ongoing issues with the EFL and PL, the lack of investment, all point towards us not being in a healthy position. But we are slowly getting rid of the higher earning, underperforming, wantaway players. So I think there could be a chance he stays and we rebuild. But it is a remote chance. If he doesn't sign, it's such an opportunity missed. He's been our best player by a country mile. And he ACTUALLY WANTS TO BE HERE. Despite the crap. Despite playing with some of the most disinterested bunch of professionals to ever pull on our club's shirt. It would be such a waste of an opportunity if he ends up elsewhere.

I was thinking about this yesterday. UEFA could persuade as many of its teams that have qualified to pull out and take part in an impromptu Euros and fill the gaps with the UEFA teams with the next highest FIFA rankings. The tournament could be held across the continent like the Euro 2020 edition (in 2021 because of Covid), which would mitigate against the sudden costs being incurred by one or two countries. Easy peasy.

Someone check if Jordan James's back is OK from carrying this team all season

Could go either way, this. We could win it 3-0 and only be good for 20 minutes. We could lose 3-0 and only be atrocious for 20 minutes. And any other type of result could happen really. The only thing we can predict is that we won't put together a coherent performance and there will be questions about the team and the manager regardless.

I think just having his negativity out the door is the biggest priority. We need to be sounding out other suitors in case Monaco don't follow through with the option, though. Next up, Winks hopefully

With our academy bringing through multiple top talents at the same time, one thing I guess we need to get used to is that we won't keep all of them until the club decides either they're not actually good enough or that we're ready to get a top fee for them. From a fans perspective, I'd say most of us want as many of them in the first team as possible, but we may lose a few of these kids far too early for our liking. The links are encouraging. We see them doing well in youth football and we get excited. They find the route to the first team tough to break into because of a bloated squad and managers who prefer experience to burgeoning talent. But it's good to know that other clubs are taking an interest. It's confirmation that we can believe our own eyes and that we can reasonably think that if these boys do get a chance, they might be able to succeed here. Thankfully, we're now in a position where more of them are getting a chance. Hutchinson's situation, though, is puzzling in isolation. Otchere is doing well at U21 level. I agree with the call that if Otchere is thriving then he needs men's football either in our first team (we need a striker so why not?) or in League One or Two and then Hutchinson can get a chance to step up at U21 level on a regular basis. But it is currently puzzling why so many of our young players are being promoted early, yet Hutchinson is thriving as a 17-year-old for the U18s and not being given a regular chance at a higher level as a rotation option for Otchere and Richards. If we can move on some of the players who definitely aren't going to make it here (Richards, Wanya, etc.) then maybe the pathway opens up for him here. But while he's finding the route to the first team blocked, interest from the likes of Man Utd and Real will be even more attractive to him than it ordinarily would.

An incredible quality to have. When a player looks like he has loads of time on the ball you know they're a class act. I've been run off the park by good uni footballers. I can't imagine how much less time you have with actual professionals chasing you around

Some of these guys who have got what it takes just suddenly click. It's almost as if men's football looks a massive step up and then they realise that actually they're much better than most of the players they're playing with and against. A famous example is Wayne Rooney when he went from idolising the Everton first team, to being promoted to it and suddenly realising "these are sh!t". Aluko looks like a proper baller of a right-back at U21 level, getting forward and scoring goals. Hopefully it clicks for him quickly and we have a real player on our hands.

Don't forget Corriedale was on the box

He looks much improved than even his first U21 games at the start of the season. Such an exciting player to add to the ridiculous talent we're bringing through. If the rumour of other clubs interest is true, we have to get him a first team squad place soon, maybe even minutes to drive up the potential compensation and hopefully put those suitors off a bit, allowing us to get Motsi to commit to a pro deal with us.

Really good to see different elements to his game. Good goal as well. Seeing a player excel well above his age is incredibly exciting. Definitely looks incredibly lightweight doesn't he. He may need some time to become ready physically but at the moment he looks like he could take the first team by storm when he is ready.

Ironic considering we may just p!ss away our Championship status

This could be such an important thing. He's pushing the envelope again. Crossing another line. In the same interview he conceded that he does need to abide by international law. But he's sewn the seed that may enable him not to. He's already done it with invading Venezuela and kidnapping Maduro. But if nobody bats an eyelid when he says something and immediately backtracks on it, he'll keep pushing it and he will begin to do that thing with regularity. Ditto regarding the cancellation of the midterm elections in November 2026. He's 'joked' about cancelling them. Don't be surprised if he tries it. Don't be surprised if protests on the streets give him the excuse to justify his authoritarianism, painting 'the radical left' and 'foreign invaders' as those responsible.

Supermarket car parks. Getting beeped at to move forward so someone can get into a disabled bay but I'm waiting for someone to exit a different bay. Then when I park up, I'm stopped and see a car reversing into a bay going at probably a relatively slower than normal speed but not exactly crawling. They're literally a couple of seconds in before the driver of a car waiting is shaking his head, smirking to himself and throwing his hands in the air. Another time at a different supermarket, I find a space but the car behind me is coming way too fast and seems genuinely surprised (by the gestures he throws my way) when I reverse into the bay. Don't get me started on those that park in the hatched no-parking areas or loiter on the road near the drop-off areas (but not in those areas), blocking the road and reducing visibility for anyone emerging out. Feels like nearly everybody has collectively lost their patience and tolerance for what other people are wanting to do on the road. Try to overtake someone on the motorway and they speed up when you're alongside them. Overtake on a normal road and they scream up behind you and tailgate you later on down the road. Such weird, entitled behaviour sometimes.

Seems to have kept himself fit and had a few bright moments this season. Would be a much more reliable option than Antonio. The only problem being the schedule and intensity of the Championship. We'll probably have to rotate him in order to reduce the chance of him breaking down with a long injury.

If something else doesn't materialise during the window, presumably we'd still be able to sign him as he'd be a free agent still? Unless there's also a deadline for finalising your squad?

Absolutely

Ford Kuga taxi on the way into Leicester down Welford Road, repeatedly changing lanes all of a sudden without indicating. Thanks for severely cutting down my stopping distance without warning on an icy night. Gimp.

Clearly the people of Venezuela require a better government than an authoritarian dictatorship. The trouble is that Trump throwing his weight around and interfering in foreign affairs on the pretence of US national security is a scary thing and there's every chance that MAGA becomes as authoritarian as Venezuela whether under Trump or a successor. Greenland (and by extension Denmark and Europe) should be watching this closely and putting measures in place to stop this happening in the Arctic. Panama will be watching terrified as well.

Short term, O'Neill. Had an instant impact at Celtic between the putrid end to Rodgers' reign and Nancy's catastrophic start. Technically more successful than Pearson here but the game has moved on too much for him to be a long-term solution, I feel. For half a season, I think he'd send us on a big run to the playoffs and we'd win them. Longer term, Pearson, if we're looking for a manager to build a legacy. His first stint was an instant turnaround but in his second he needed time to change a bloated, poorly recruited squad into one that sang from the same hymn sheet and played for one another as a band of brothers. We may sneak 6th with Nige, we might not. But he'd set us up for a few seasons of success, I think, and leave us in a really good place whether that would be in one, two or five years' time.

I think you're right about KDH. Looking at how KDH is playing this season as well. He is a brilliant ball carrier. We retained possession through having those types of players in KDH, Winks, Vestergaard and Ricardo in those central areas. Having the twin 8s by including Ndidi just gave us bodies and the ability to keep the ball in central areas. That allowed us to hit the wingers at the more opportune moments when they're likely to be most effective. Contrast that to now and I think both Mavididi and Fatawu are receiving the ball further away from goal and are being expected to beat players and do something. Fatawu is putting it all on himself by shooting at every available opportunity when there are better options on or a chance to build and create rather than waste a low-percentage shot from a ridiculous distance. And Mavididi is getting past players but then finding himself surrounded without much option. We're not making best use of our wide players, I think. Although Fatawu, when he gets a one-on-one, gets past his man to the byline and cuts back to De Cordova-Reid, is still producing results. I'm not saying we need Winks back. Far from it. He's been awful and his attitude isn't right for a senior pro. But something in our system needs to change to make two of our potentially most dangerous players more threatening.

I'd love him back. 100% never going to happen at this point in his career and while we're in this state. All the noise points to him waiting until the summer and replacing Pep at Man City.

I think it was a €5m option rather than an obligation